WASHINGTON — Colorado’s Democratic Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet were among half the members of the U.S. Senate who signed onto a letter Friday urging Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to let military service members, civilian personnel and contractors go back to work with pay.

This comes after a number of House members, including GOP Reps. Doug Lamborn and Mike Coffman, sent similar letters earlier this week after hearing that thousands of military personnel have been furloughed — even though a new law should prevent that.

Coffman was the lead sponsor of legislation that passed both the House and the Senate that ensures military service members collect a paycheck and continue working in the event of a government shutdown. President Barack Obama signed the legislation earlier this week.

But people have been furloughed anyway. This includes some 2,241 civilians working at Buckley Air Force Base and another 3,119 working at Fort Carson Army Base. This also includes Colorado National Guardsmen who are rebuilding roads and bridges outside of Estes Park from the flooding. Gov. John Hickenlooper said he would cover the costs of the 120 soldiers’ time so they continue to work.

Coffman’s office estimates more than 9,000 people are furloughed in Colorado alone.

There are 50,000 total active duty and reserve forces living in Colorado, according to the Pentagon.

In the letter to Hagel, the senators wrote, “The law that we recently passes is explicitly clear: all members of the Armed Forces, including Reserve component personnel who perform active service, will be paid in the event of a government shutdown.”

WASHINGTON — Republican Reps. Mike Coffman and Doug Lamborn slammed the Pentagon Thursday for furloughing about 10,000 Colorado military and civilian service members, despite a freshly passed law that should shield them from a government shutdown.

President Barack Obama signed a measure this week that said active duty, civilian personnel and contractors will not be affected in the event of a partial government shutdown.

The bill, sponsored by Coffman, passed unanimously in the House and Senate.

“The legislation purposely casts as wide a net as possible to ensure that Department of Defense civilian personnel, all of which are necessary to sustain military operations, can report to work,” Coffman wrote to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in a letter.

Lamborn’s and Coffman’s offices on Thursday said the 10,000 furloughed Colorado-based serviceworkers includes 3,110 civilians at Fort Carson and 2,241 civilians at Buckley Air Force Base.

“We thought with the president having signed it, it shouldn’t be an issue, but, for whatever reason, it’s not happening,” said Lamborn, whose district is reeling from the shutdown because of all the military installations. “My district is being hit very hard. I want people to be reassured.”

In a Thursday letter to Obama, Lamborn told him that his administration “is putting your political agenda ahead of our national security and ahead of the law.”

WASHINGTON — Colorado’s most politically vulnerable Republican isn’t quite ready to join 14 other moderate GOP House members and endorse a “clean” continuing resolution to fund the federal government.

Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, said Thursday in an interview that “there is a negotiation going on right now” and he wants to see how the conversations move forward before throwing support behind a funding measure that isn’t attached to anything dismantling the Affordable Care Act.

Colorado’s other three Republican Reps. Scott Tipton, Cory Gardner and Doug Lamborn are also not in support of clean funding measures, their staffs said.

The Washington Post reported 14 Republicans, mostly from eastern states and California, say they want to end the government shutdown by supporting a funding measure that doesn’t have any Obamacare provisions.

The Democratic-controlled Senate has rejected every government funding measure the House has sent over that include proposals to dismantle, delay or defund Obamacare.

“This is a negotiation,” Coffman said. “I think there’s a belief that compromise is wrong but I believe that to govern, particularly in divided government, you have to compromise.”

WASHINGTON — At least one bipartisan, bicameral accomplishment took place on Capitol Hill Monday.

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed a measure that lifts the $100 million cap on federal cash to help the state repair roads and bridges after the devastating floods.

The Federal Highway Administration has disaster money available for states that suffer natural disasters, but the rules usually limit the money to $100 million per request. Gov. John Hickenlooper’s office estimates 50 Colorado bridges and 200 miles of highways need repaired after more than 20 inches of rain fell in some areas of the state a few weeks ago. This could cost between $300 and $500 million.

With Congressional approval, the cap has been lifted many times — including for states incurring damage from Hurricanes Sandy and Irene.

“I am pleased to work with my colleagues from Colorado to ensure that we will have the resources we need to rebuild our roads,” said Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder.

Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet said on the Senate floor that the measure is a “clear case where people here have listened to the people of Colorado.”

He added, “There are a lot of times when people wonder whether anyone in this place listens to them at home.”

Democratic Sen. Mark Udall called the funds critically important because it helps Colorado start to rebuild from massive destruction.

“Many communities are just now beginning to comprehend how serious the damage is and to see firsthand how many hundreds of miles of highways, roads, bridges, and other parts of our infrastructure are ruined or in some cases have even washed away entirely,” he said, in a speech on the floor Monday.

The House and Senate versions are slightly different so the two sides are going to have to get together to work out the differences before sending it to President Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON — It was a working weekend in Washington as Congress, specifically the U.S. House of Representatives, toiled to find agreement on funding the federal government after midnight tonight.

The bill they sent to the Senate shortly after midnight Saturday has been declared a non-starter by Democrats because it delays the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

The Senate gavels in today at 2 p.m. but there is little hope either side will figure out a way to thwart a partial shutdown at midnight.

Here are a few noteworthy quotes uttered or typed by our Congressional delegation and Gov. John Hickenlooper over the weekend.

Gov. John Hickenlooper:

“We are watching closely what’s happening in Washington,” he said, in an email. “This type of political theater isn’t productive. We remain especially interested in how a shutdown may impact flood recovery.”

Rep. Doug Lamborn, Colorado Springs Republican:
“Everyone bears to some extent responsibility for this,” he said. “As much we don’t want a shutdown, we also have to look, at the same time, at what is good for the long term health of the country and limiting obamacare in any way we can is good for the country.”

Rep. Cory Gardner, Republican from Yuma:
“We are sending over alternatives,” he said. “Boy it’s frustrating to see the Senate arch their backs and refuse to work with us.”Read more…

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a food stamp funding measure Thursday that will cut $40 billion from the program, which amounts to paring 55,000 Coloradans from the rolls.

“These reforms are necessary to ensure that taxpayer dollars are protected from fraud and abuse,” said Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs. “It is also not too much to ask that able-bodied adults without dependents should be required to work in order to collect food stamps.”

In a party-line split, Colorado’s four Republican Reps. Mike Coffman, Cory Gardner, Scott Tipton and Doug Lamborn all supported the measure. Democrat Reps. Ed Perlmutter and Diana DeGette voted against it. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, is skipping votes this week to work on flood relief in his district.

The deep cuts — $20 billion more than a failed try earlier in the summer — have no real chance in getting through the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Originally, food stamp funding was tucked into a massive farm bill, which included reforms in direct crop subsidies, insurance, milk prices and drought relief. This was supported by the Colorado Farm Bureau and many rural Republicans like Gardner.

But both Democrats and Republicans rejected the proposal this summer. Democrats didn’t like the food stamp cuts and Republicans didn’t think the food stamp cuts went far enough.

So the House passed the less-controversial agricultural section of the bill before the August recess and then tackled food stamps this week.

More than 500,000 people in Colorado were on food stamps, as of May 2013.

“I’m anxious about it,” said Gardner, a few hours before the vote. “I’m glad we’re moving forward on a path that should complete the farm bill but the road has not been easy. I don’t want to be overconfident at any point.”

Kathy Underhill, executive director of HungerFree Colorado, called the vote misguided and disappointing.

“The changes in this legislation will likely cause more than 55,000 Coloradans to be cut from the program altogether resulting in children going to bed hungry and older adults having to choose between medicine and food,” she said. “It will also result in deep losses among grocery retailers and those whose jobs depend on the retail supply chain.”

Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican, says shutting down the government would be better than funding the new federal health care law.

Rep. Doug Lamborn was among 80 House conservatives who signed onto a letter late last week saying an autumn government shutdown would be better than funding the new federal government health care law.

Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican, said through his spokeswoman Tuesday that his constituents “overwhelmingly” say they don’t want Obamacare and want it de-funded — at any expense.

“Millions of Americans are in danger of losing their current healthcare benefits, seeing huge increases to their premiums, or forced to pay for insurance they either don’t want or don’t need,” said spokeswoman Catherine Mortensen. “Congressman Lamborn maintains that ObamaCare is a train wreck that must be stopped.”

Two major budget issues will have to be tackled when Congress returns from its five-week recess Sept. 9. The current fiscal year ends Sept. 30 and new money must be appropriated to keep the federal government open. In addition, the United States will reach its borrowing limit at some point in October and it will take Congressional approval to increase the nation’s debt ceiling.

President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration for Fremont County Friday for the Royal Gorge Fire which charred more than 3,200 acres in June.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama signed a Colorado Disaster Declaration Friday, releasing federal dollars for victims of the June Royal Gorge Fire in Fremont County.

The fire charred more than 3,200 acres from June 11-16 and slightly damaged the county’s primary tourism magnet: the world’s second highest suspension bridge, the Royal Gorge. That state park drew about 300,000 people a year and brought in $9 million in revenue to Fremont County a year. The park, which lost 48 of its 52 buildings, will be closed until the fall.

The federal money will be available to state and eligible local governments and some private and non-profit organizations for replacement of facilities damaged by the fire, officials said.

Rep. Doug Lamborn, of Colorado Springs, pushed through a measure that bars the Defense Department from implementing civilian furloughs under “sequestration” which chops $85 billion from the federal budget over a nine-year period.

Lamborn said in a statement that his measure, “is a first step toward restoring sanity to the Defense budget and restoring pay to our nation’s civilian defense workers. I want to make sure the Obama Administration can no longer play politics with the lives and jobs of our civilian defense workers.”

Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, also passed an amendment to defund a certain kind of aircraft that was being purchased for Afghanistan.

The amendment reduces funding for Afghanistan’s military by $553.8 million — an amount equal to the contract the Defense Department entered into for 30 Mi-17 helicopters — and transfers that funding into deficit reduction.

Another Republican proposal — championed by Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder but opposed by the White House — to defund the National Security Agency’s program that collects phone records of millions of Americans narrowly failed.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.